Headlines: The gay former American Idol also-ran Clay Aiken wasn't impressed by this year's (widely presumed to be) gay A.I. also-ran, Adam Lambert. Aiken blogged that he'd seen and heard Lambert covering "Ring of Fire," and that "at that moment, I thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful and slightly frightening. I wasn't really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me they liked him." Oooh, burn! But then Aiken began to backtrack. First, the blog post came down. Then, Aiken clarified and retracted some of what he'd written and also apologized. "I hope no one actually believed that blood truly poured forth from my ears when I heard him," Aiken wrote. "I obviously meant it as a colorful statement to imply that I did not enjoy what I heard." Also, he wrote: "None of what I said in my previous blog was directed as a 'slam' on Adam as a person." And: "The only person I would really dream of apologizing to is Adam. And the irony is, if he's smart he couldn't give a crap what I think of his 'Ring of Fire' performance." Right-o. Among Idol runners-up, by the way, Lambert > Aiken/Katherine McPhee/Blake Lewis/David Archuleta/Bo Bice/Diana DeGarmo > Justin Guarini. ... Dylan-McCartney: It's on. So says the Daily Express, which reports that the legends will collaborate in California this summer. ... Amy Winehouse canceled a comeback concert. Remember when she made music, not headlines -- and it was pretty great? Yeah, neither do I. Sigh. ... Hip-hop culture's fixation with ice, ice baby has taken a hit given the state of the economy. Or, as the Wall Street Journal puts it: "The recession is cramping the style of hip-hop artists and wannabes -- many of whom are finding it difficult to afford the diamond-encrusted pendants and heavy gold chains they have long used to project an aura of outsized wealth." The Beverly Hills jeweler who once used 3,756 round-cut white diamonds to make a five-pound "CRUNK AIN'T DEAD" pendant for Lil Jon tells the Journal: "It's to the point where they are wearing imitation jewelry, and that's ridiculous." Even Biz Markie is quoted, though there's not a single use of "dookie rope" in the piece. ... Before heading to prison on a federal weapons conviction, T.I. had to take care of a little business. The business of being T.I., anyway: He performed a sold-out concert at Atlanta's Philips Arena just days before beginning to serve his year-and-a-day sentence. One song he likely won't be humming in the showers: "Whatever You Like." ... Wanna know why it's so difficult to get Bruce Springsteen tickets? The Newark Star-Ledger analyzes documents submitted by Ticketmaster to the New Jersey Attorney General. ... Jay Bennett, Jeff Tweedy's former sparring partner in Wilco, is dead at 45. The Chicago Trib's Greg Kot has compiled a Bennett best-of. ... Nick Cannon stands by what he said about what Eminem said, in song, about Cannon and his wife, Mariah Carey, even if the blog post in which Cannon said it has been scrubbed from his site. Says traffic to the post could've crashed his site. Oh, the horror. ... Billy Joel's former drummer wants to be paid: Liberty DeVitto filed a lawsuit demanding Joel make good on unpaid royalties. ... Most people go to Hooters for the wings. Either that, or they're pervy. Or both. But the rapper Bubba Sparxxx allegedly went to for the drugs and got himself arrested in the process. ... I dig Scarlett Johansson, the actress, but I don't really care about Scarlett Johnansson, the singer. But if you do, well -- rejoice: That ScarJo has another album coming out. It's a collaboration with Pete Yorn from a few years back. ... From the Dept. of No Duh: Leonardo DiCaprio is reportedly going to play The Chairman in "Sinatra." ... Are the Jonas Brothers fizzling as a full-blown Walt Disney Company franchise? The New York Times asks that very question, albeit not to the JoBros themselves. But a Hollywood Records exec and the boy band's co-manager say no, of course Hot/Cute/Other aren't fizzling, despite the somewhat sorry box-office number posted by the band's 3D concert film ("if $19 million is a flop, I'll take it," says the co-manager, Johnny Wright) and the so-so ratings of the Disney Channel premiere of "JONAS." The show was No. 1 in its target demographic, but, The Times notes, "it was also Disney Channel's second-lowest live-action premiere in nearly four years." Still, tickets to the band's summer tour are selling pretty well. A new JoBros album, "Lines, Vines and Trying Times," is out June 16, with a publicity push that will include a Rolling Stone cover and free concert in Central Park. Million-seller or bust.

Comments

Aiken would know. He is the best male singer/actor/author and humanitarian. He makes the most money and sold the most CDs.

Lambert is a screamer, if you like that sort of thing.

Posted by: Masterclass | May 26, 2009 12:00 PM

Very true Clay, I doubt Adam really would care much about what you think. It would be like Britney Spears caring about what Bruce Springsteen thinks. Totally different realities. Adam will probably end up fronting Queen or INXS. Clay will continue on doing whatever it is he does, and good luck to him with it